Success Factors in Management of Development Projects

From the reports of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Office of Evaluation and Oversight (OVE), a limited analysis of the factors affecting the execution of development cooperation projects was identified. Thanks to the review of scientific articles by renowned authors, effectiveness, relevance, competencies and motivation, sustainability, risk management, and additionality were evaluated using the analysis of relationships between variables and causality using IBM SPSS and fsQCA 3.0 software, respectively. As a result, a model was obtained that relates the components, factors, and roles that make up the stakeholder matrix. It was concluded that the effectiveness factor has a significant relationship with the success of a project; however, this could not be possible without a good development of sustainability and risk management, the latter being a necessary and sufficient condition for success in this type of projects. Currently, risk management has not only become a necessity nowadays, but the improvement of risk management will increase sustainability in project management, the main factors for the success of a project.

Magic and Witchcraft Implications for Democratization and Poverty-Alleviating Aid in Africa

ABSTRACT & RÉSUMÉ & ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: The belief in occult forces is still deeply rooted in many African societies, regardless of education, religion, and social class of the people concerned. According to many Africans its incidence is even increasing due to social stress and strain caused (among others) by the process of modernization. Most often magic and witchcraft accusations work to the disadvantage of the poor and deprived, but under particular circumstances they become a means of the poor in the struggle against oppression by establishing "cults of counterviolence." Magic and witchcraft beliefs have increasingly been instrumentalized for political purposes. Apparently they can be used to support any kind of political system, whether despotic or democratic. The belief in occult forces has serious implications for development cooperation. Development projects, which constitute arenas of strategic groups in their struggle for power and control over project resources, are likely to add further social stress to an already endangered precarious balance of power, causing witchcraft accusations to flourish. In addition, witchcraft accusations may serve as indicators of hidden social conflicts which are difficult to detect by other methods. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RÉSUMÉ : [ La magie et la sorcellerie : conséquences pour la démocratisation et l'aide à la réduction de la pauvreté en Afrique ] - La croyance en forces occultes est encore profondément enracinée dans des nombreuses sociétés africaines, indépendamment de l'éducation, de la religion et de la classe sociale des personnes concernées. Selon des nombreux Africains, son incidence augmente encore en raison du stress social et de la tension causée (entre autres) par le processus de modernisation. Le plus souvent, les accusations de magie et de sorcellerie font mal aux pauvres et aux personnes défavorisées, mais dans des circonstances particulières, elles deviennent un moyen pour les pauvres dans la lutte contre l'oppression en établissant des « cultes de contre-violence ». Les croyances magiques et sorcelleries ont de plus en plus été instrumentées à des fins politiques. Apparemment, ils peuvent être utilisés pour soutenir tout type de système politique, qu'il soit despotique ou démocratique. La croyance en forces occultes a de sérieuses implications pour la coopération au développement. Les projets de développement, qui constituent des arènes de groupes stratégiques dans leur lutte pour le pouvoir et le contrôle sur les ressources du projet, sont susceptibles d'ajouter un stress social supplémentaire à un équilibre de pouvoir précaire déjà menacé, ce qui entraînera des accusations de sorcellerie. En outre, les accusations de sorcellerie peuvent servir d'indicateur de conflits sociaux cachés qui sont difficiles à détecter par d'autres méthodes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: [Magie und Hexerei: Implikationen für Demokratisierung und armuts-lindernde Entwicklungshilfe in Afrika] - Der Glaube an okkulte Mächte ist immer noch fest verankert in vielen afrikanischen Gesellschaften, unabhängig von Ausbildung, Religion und sozialer Klasse der betroffenen Menschen. Viele Afrikaner glauben sogar, dass Hexerei weiter zunimmt durch die wachsenden gesellschaftlichen Gegensätze im Rahmen der Modernisierung. In der Regel wirken Hexenanschuldigungen zum Nachteil der Armen und Entrechteten. Aber unter bestimmten Umständen können sie durch die Etablierung von ‚Kulten der Gegengewalt‘ auch zum Mittel der Armen in ihrem Kampf gegen Unterdrückung werden. Der Glaube an Magie und Hexerei wird in Afrika zunehmend für politische Zwecke instrumentalisiert. Augenscheinlich kann er zur Unterstützung jeglicher politischer Systeme, ob despotisch oder demokratisch, genutzt werden. Aus dem Glauben an okkulte Mächte ergeben sich gravierende Implikationen für die Entwicklungszusammenarbeit. Entwicklungsprojekt, die auf lokaler Ebene Schauplatz strategischer Gruppen in ihrer Auseinandersetzung um Macht und Kontrolle über Projektmittel bilden, sind dazu angetan, weiteren sozialen Stress zum ohnehin schon prekären Machtgleichgewicht hinzuzufügen, und heizen Hexenanschuldigungen damit an. Davon abgesehen, können Hexenanschuldigungen als Indikator für versteckte soziale Konflikte dienen, die durch andere Methoden der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit kaum aufzudecken sind.

KAZAKHSTAN’S NUCLEAR GOVERNANCE AS A FOREIGN POLICY ASSET

Kazakhstan’s nonproliferation initiatives are recognized worldwide. Kazakhstan is a party to almost all major nuclear treaties, a key driver in the creation of a Central Asian nuclear-weapon-free zone, initiated the Universal Declaration on Building a World Free of Nuclear Weapons, established a low-enriched uranium bank under the auspices of the IAEA in Ust-Kamenogorsk to be used for peaceful purposes in the event of a disruption in the supply of fuel for nuclear power plants.While the foreign policy acts of Kazakhstan in non-proliferation are well known and internationally appreciated, the transfer of Kazakh experience in the governance of the nuclear sector is lesser known asset. For example, the experience of the Committee for Atomic and Energy Supervision and Control and KAZATOMPROM in uranium mining and transport was shared with countries from the Southern African Development Community, under an EU project, implemented by the International Science and Technology Center. This example reveals the great potential this themes have for the further input of Kazakhstan in international development cooperation.

Sustainable Recovery of Architectural Heritage: The Experience of a Worksite School in San Salvador

This paper presents the experience of both interdisciplinary and sustainable implementation of an educational construction site for the recovery of the architectural heritage in Central America. Rey Prendes House is representative of one hundred and forty-five houses made of wood, stamped steel sheet, and deployé that are located in the historical center of San Salvador. Its origin is linked to historical events, such as the strong migration of foreigners to El Salvador in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the presidential decrees that encouraged the reconstruction of the city with anti-seismic materials as a result of the earthquakes of 1873 and 1917. More recently, since 2017, Rey Prendes House has been included in the project funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation. In this paper, the phases of the survey are documented with both materials and degradation analyses, the new design construction with BIM technology for the organization of the educational construction site, the creation of offices and laboratories for restoration and treatments of timber and metal details. Moreover, the study provides a contextual framework with the aim of describing the policies and the projects implemented, highlighting the adopted strategies, the results achieved, and outlining the path followed towards the design solutions for sustainable rehabilitation relating to future use.